Below, the most important information is summarised in English. Please note that the working language at Montessoriförskolan Trädet is Swedish. Thus, the teaching is in Swedish, and our documents (e.g. meeting protocols) and meetings are in Swedish. You are welcome to apply even if you don’t speak Swedish, but it’s good to be aware of this.
The parent cooperative association Montessoriförskolan Trädet is a nonprofit organisation, whose purpose is to conduct preschool activities without economical profit. The association is politically and religiously independent. We strive for continuous improvements, high competence, an inspiring environment, staff well-being, good safety, and staff and parent involvement in our activities. It’s important that families and staff make an active choice to join our preschool based on the positive aspects of being a part of our parent cooperative association. You can read more about the parent cooperative association below.
Education
Montessoriförskolan Trädet follows the Swedish national curriculum for preschools with an orientation towards the Montessori method. There is a lot of information about this method online, for example you can check out the Wikipedia page about it to learn more. Please do some research on this method before applying to ensure that it’s what you want for your child.
We have around 30 children at our preschool in the ages 1-6. The children are divided into two groups depending on age and maturity: Nyckelpigan for 1-2.5/3 year-olds; and Trollsländan for 2.5/3-6 year-olds. The teaching is adapted to the specific age groups. The decision of moving up children to Trollsländan is made by the principal together with the staff and it is based on several factors such as the maturity of the child, the composition of the group of children and the need to free up a position in Nyckelpigan due to the admission of new children there. Our staff consists of preschool teachers/child minders, many with some form of Montessori education. The preschool is located in Högsbo, close to the public transport stop Marklandsgatan.
The preschool opening hours are currently 07:15-17:00. The preschool is closed four four weeks during the summer and for two study days per term. The board also has the right to close the preschool for additional days during the year if necessary.
The food served is delivered by AG catering, who try to use as much organic products as possible. All food is cooked on the day of delivery. Please note that if your child has milder allergies we can provide special food if you supply a medical certificate but we are not an allergy preschool, which you need to have in mind if your child has severe allergies.
The Parent Cooperative Association
Montessoriförskolan Trädet is a parent cooperative association, which means that it’s us parents that run the preschool, although it’s mostly funded by taxes just as the public preschools. By putting in some work ourselves, we can have a higher number of teachers per child and we can influence our children’s education. This work consists of three parts:
1) Cleaning the preschool. The preschool is cleaned every weekday by the parents according to a schedule. A normal weekday clean-up takes around 3 hours. Once or twice per term every family also has a weekend clean-up which takes longer. Depending on the number of families at the preschool there are approximately 7-9 cleaning occasions per term in total. During the winter months there is also a snow shoveling schedule.
2) Being part of a work group. There are several work groups at Montessoriförskolan Trädet, in areas such as IT, economy, recruitment of new children, personnel, yard work, inside work, and events. There is also a board. Each parent must be part of a work group or be a board member. The amount of work in the work groups vary a lot between groups and over the year but on average you should be ready to spend a couple of hours per week on work group duties.
3) Common cleaning days (one per term) and association meetings twice per term. These are mandatory and at least one member from each family is expected to participate.
Parents are never required to help out with the children as we are of the opinion that we don’t have the knowledge necessary to enter a Montessori classroom. If necessary, substitutes are instead hired if our regular staff is absent. Parents are not responsible for daily purchases such as fruits and snacks, this is taken care of by the staff.
In addition to work, we also try to do fun activities together such as parties, dinners and more. The community aspect is a big part of our association and should be something you would like to be part of if you apply to our preschool.
A fee is paid for each child according to the rules of Göteborgs stad (maxtaxa if you don’t submit an income statement, then it may be lower). You can see the fees for the current year here. The fee is paid one month in advance at the end of the month.
Application
If you wish to apply to our preschool you can do so as soon as your child has a Swedish personal number. Please fill in the form here. We follow the queue rules of Göteborgs stad, applying sibling priority and time in the queue in our selection. Twice a year you need to confirm your place in the queue by answering an email, this is normally sent out in January and at the end of the summer.
Once a year we have an open house when parents can visit the preschool to see our facilities and speak to teachers and parents. This usually takes place in the beginning of the year and an invitation is sent out to everyone in the queue. Viewings on demand are not given, however, if your child is offered a position you are welcome to visit the preschool before accepting.
Contact
If you have any questions about the teaching methods or wish to submit a job application, please contact our principal at info@tradet.se. For questions regarding recruitment of children or the parent cooperative association, please email intagning@tradet.se.